5 Future Home Technologies You'll Love

Using 3-D software, the system goes through a series of steps to verify or identify an individual.

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Lots of movies today feature businesses and governmental entities with facial recognition software in place, usually to keep unauthorized personnel from accessing areas with highly-classified information and priceless goods. Eventually, many of us may be able to install this software in our own homes. Why would we want to? Video cameras at our doors could identify our family and friends, plus strangers. If a stranger does ring our doorbell, the system could then immediately run the person's mug against all the faces in our criminal and terrorist databases, so we don't let in some really bad dude [source: Future Technology Portal]. Of course, sometimes a family member or friend turns out to be a bad guy.

There are numerous companies currently working with facial recognition software, for both business and personal use. When and if it becomes widely available isn't yet known. Android currently has a face-unlock feature in its Android 4 operating system, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. But if you hold up a photo of the authorized user, it can be fooled [source: Bonnington]. So, it seems we have a ways to go on this one.

Author's Note: 5 Future Home Technologies You'll Love

I don't need a robot. I don't even think I'd like it, actually. But a smart toilet? Sign me up for that one!